Music

Facebook Memories

April 17, 2017


Thanks to Facebook for showing me this memory today. It was three years ago when I participated as the piano accompanist collaborating with a local soprano, a good friend of mine. We performed Korean Folk & Art Song on 19th April 2014 at the Petaling Street Art House, Jalan Sultan. The recital performance was featured in a local newspaper.

I have been thinking to do a solo recital in future but there's a lot of behind-the-scene work to be done, such as getting a good and proper hall, renting a good grand piano, printing tickets, posters, coming up with a list of repertoire to perform, spreading the news over social media platforms. Therefore, it's not as easy as one would think about preparing and organizing a performance.

Well, let me go through my repertoire and see which pieces are suitable and interesting to be presented for my audience. With my baby niece in the house, it's hard to get some time to practise these days. I just got so drawn to her. Hahaha.

Travel

Many Travel Booking Sites Are Misleading Consumers

April 13, 2017

Image credit: Google

In the past, when one wants to travel, you would most probably go to a travel agency which provides the service to plan and book everything for you. All you need to do is to tell them your choice of destinations and once the itinerary has been set and prices are agreed upon, you just pay and wait to board the plane on that date.

In today's digital-era, many opt to plan their own itinerary and book flights and hotel on their own without the hassle of going through a middle-party. With many booking websites available, it is easy to look through and compare on the screen of your laptop or smartphone and with a few clicks here and there, voila! You'll be on your way to your dream destination.

But did you know that in a report published last week, the European Commission revealed that 235 of 352 travel booking websites they examined advertised prices or deals which were not the actual price at the end of the final page of your booking process. That's two-thirds of the total checked.

I'm sure some of you have encountered this scenario where you saw a good deal on the front page of a booking website and after you have clicked and filled up all your particulars, the moment when you click to proceed to make payment, you realised the total amount is not the same as the price advertised.

It baffles you as to what happened and why did the price hiked up at the last minute? Some of the websites did not show the hotel taxes and other miscellaneous amount until you click the final button to make a payment. In some cases, special deals prices were not available at the actual booking page.

Apart from that, some booking websites gave you the impression that certain deals are only available within a limited time, for instance, only 2 rooms left, only available today! The next time you see tagline like these, do not panic and book immediately to grab the last room because what they didn't tell you is that each booking website has a fixed amount of rooms given by the hotel to sell through their websites. That last two rooms applied strictly on their website. If you can't get a room in this website, try another one. Maybe you would get a cheaper or better rate.

Every year the Commission coordinates the screening of websites for a particular sector, with the help of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network which brings together the consumer authorities of 28 countries (26 EU countries, Norway and Iceland). The authorities are responsible for enforcing EU consumer protection laws in the EU. The 235 websites with irregularities will have to correct the irregularities. Consumer Protection Cooperation authorities will ensure they comply by activating their national enforcement procedures.

Remember this tip: ALWAYS pay attention to the details. Read everything, every line. Make sure you know what you're paying.

Birthday

My Niece's 1st Birthday Party

April 09, 2017

Happy Birthday, my adorable niece!

Phew! Alas, it's finally done and over! I'm so tired from last night's party. My family hosted a birthday party for my niece. It's her 1st birthday, so we decided to make it big by having a buffet dinner. There are a lot of people that we want to invite so buffet is the best option without having to cook and prepare like mad!

I have been planning this for months, from searching and surveying which caterer to book for food, which bakery or pastry chef to custom-made the birthday cake. You must be feeling strange that aren't this supposed to be the parents' task to plan for their baby's birthday party.

My brother and sister-in-law are not very tech-savvy and have no clue where to find these resources so they have asked for my help to plan for them. Who knows? Maybe after this experience, I could take birthday party planner as my side job to earn some extra income. Hahaha.

Let's start with the caterer. I searched and read so many websites of different catering companies, paying attention to what the reviews from the customers say about their experience with the catering company. I even posted a question in a Facebook Group, asking people to recommend me a good, reputable caterer. From there, I eliminate one by one until I am satisfied with the best.

Once I'm done picking that particular catering company, I observe their Facebook Page everyday to look at the photos they posted and I realised that this catering company is quite popular and they have hosted many opening ceremonies of big companies besides those house-warming and birthday parties.

Thereafter, I informed my brother and sister-in-law about this catering company and from there, we contacted them for more details on the menu and pricing. We are given a long list of food to choose from and I quite like the variety they offer. For each item, you are given six options to choose from. For instance, fish, you can choose from Tomyam Fish Fillet, Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet, Buttered Fish Fillet, Bean Sauce Fish Fillet, Kam Heong Fish Fillet, or Thai-style Fish Fillet. 

Below are our choice of menu for the party:
  1. Prawns: Fried Prawns with Butter Oat
  2. Fish: Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet
  3. Octopus: Tomyam Sotong with Lady Finger (sotong is Malay word for "squid") 
  4. Chicken: Rendang Chicken
  5. Fried Chicken: Crispy Lemon Chicken Chop
  6. Vegetables: Fried Mixed Vegetables
  7. Noodles: Kampung Style Mee Hoon 
  8. Rice: Pineapple Fried Rice
  9. Steamed Food: Seaweed Roll
  10. Snacks: Bread Cheese Ball
  11. Refreshments: Baked Mini Desserts
  12. Fruits: Fresh Honeydew
  13. Desserts: Mixed Mango Juice and Ice Kacang ABC
The buffet spread

The seating area for the guests

Two workers from the catering company came around 5:30pm to set up the tables and arrange the food. They have set up the canopy one day earlier in advance. Very efficient and fast. The workers stayed for three hours from the dinner time we set which is from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. By that time, they would start to clean up their trays and other equipments and left us with the food, tables, and chairs. They would come another day to collect the canopy, tables and chairs.

How about the food taste? Most of the guests commented that the food was good and tasty. My family and I were satisfied with the quality of the food too. Since we have ordered Ice Kacang ABC, one of the workers was in-charge to handle the ice shaving machine to prepare the dessert for our guests.


Catering company: OTK Food & Catering Services
Website: www.otkcatering.com
Email: otkcatering@gmail.com
Phone: 012-228 8749 (Nicholas)


Let's move on to the cake.

Using the same method as how I choose the caterer, I searched a few individual pastry chef on Instagram. Most of the cakes are too small for 100 guests, therefore I tried to find a cake house which is nearby my house. We went there to ask for a quotation and I'm happy that they have a lot of designs to choose from.

Prior to that, we have already decided to order a birthday cake in the shape of number 1 with a Mickey Mouse on the cake and below is a photo of the cake.

The huge gigantic 3kg birthday cake

Apart from the buffet, the guests also applauded that the cake was nice, soft, not too sweet. Some asked me where did I order the cake. If you're interested, below is the location and contact number of the cake house.


Cherries Cake House
Address: 38A, Jalan Temenggung 19/9, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, 43200 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia Phone: 012-979 8862


Overall, the party was a success! We were tired at the end of the day but it was worth it. Thank you all for coming to join us to celebrate the baby's 1st birthday. We appreciate each and every one of you for spending your precious time with us.

A special thank you to my Godma and aunty Jane Ni for the lovely dress and all the balloons decoration for our birthday girl.



Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid nor a sponsored post. The views expressed on this post is solely my personal opinions.

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